Instacart, but only at a lower cost store (food lion) that has same as in store pricing, always delivered w a 3 hr window for an extra discount, and I get $100 instacart giftcards from costco for $80, and buy bulk and freeze. We also recently switched to a csa for fruits/veg bc the quality is excellent and the price is about the same.

Anonymous wrote:We wasted the most money on items we bought and let go bad in the fridge.

We eat ground beef and eggs (even with the increase in cost), 3-4 nights a week and other meats (sometimes a tri tip or chuck roast), bunless burgers etc. These foods are very satisfying and we eat mostly dinner once a day, though my husband and sons do have leftovers for lunch a lot. We eat very little dairy and zero processed/pantry items. We get a half cow twice a year and supplement with Costco runs. We never eat out.

Our budget has actually decreased and our health has dramatically improved. I also fast for 3-5 days a month.

Same

We shop a couple times a week instead of once a week. This has made probably the biggest impact.
When we plan our meals, we use up what we buy. So if we are buying ginger for one meal we make sure to plan another meal that will use up the ginger. For snack type food we tend to buy what is on sale.

DH and I split the cooking and grocery shopping. I've cut my spending by about half. DH has cut his by about 1/3 but he tends to like making more extravagant meals.

We wasted the most money on items we bought and let go bad in the fridge.

We eat ground beef and eggs (even with the increase in cost), 3-4 nights a week and other meats (sometimes a tri tip or chuck roast), bunless burgers etc. These foods are very satisfying and we eat mostly dinner once a day, though my husband and sons do have leftovers for lunch a lot. We eat very little dairy and zero processed/pantry items. We get a half cow twice a year and supplement with Costco runs. We never eat out.

Our budget has actually decreased and our health has dramatically improved. I also fast for 3-5 days a month.

I switched from mail ordering Kona coffee at $40+ a pound to George Howell Dota at $18.50.
Climate change messed with Kona terroir anyway and my favorites taste different.

Making paneer, setting yogurt and making ghee at home.

Organic veggies from Walmart.

Growing my own pumpkin, squash, gourds and chopping and freezing them.

Do not use pre-prepped ingredients or processed foods. I am making most everything from scratch. I have also significantly slimmed down and my kids allergies and skin issues have disappeared because of these changes.

I am not doing all of this to save money though.

(and also - eat less and more nutritionally dense foods).

I refuse to meal plan and I hate leftovers, because I am impulsive and crave novelty.

so my solution to reduce costs is to shop frequently and buy 1) only something on deep sale that ALSO 2) appeals to me in that precise moment.

This only works if you go to the store fairly frequently.

I live alone; I realize this won't work for people with multiple people under one roof.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest seller of organic food in the US is actually Walmart. Their prices are good, too. Obviously it depends on the size of your store, but the bigger/newer ones with groceries have a good selection of healthy food at a good price because many of their items are loss leaders.

I would rather not shop at a super MAGA shop, thanks.

Guess your purity test also applies to WF / Amazon (Bozos), right?
And "no DEI to see here anymore!" Target?
And Trader Joe's and its sneaky anti-labor activity?

Trader Joe’s and Starbucks are helping Elon Musk undermine the US government
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/17/elon-musk-labor-union-lawsuit-strabucks-trader-joes#:~:text=Administrative%20judges%20%E2%80%93%20whether%20labor%20board,over%20Musk%20and%20the%20billionaires.

Wegmans is far less problematic.

Anonymous wrote:Found a lot of recipes for preparing tofu on YouTube. I didn't realize tofu was so versatile. And my picky eater likes it because I think they disliked the texture of meat

It's so good. I'm obsessed with tofu and I'm not a vegetarian.

Anonymous wrote:Seafood once a week max, turkey, tofu, and ground beef the rest of the time.
Canned tuna with olive oil and balsamic is a quick easy protein meal.
Even if the grocery bill is higher, cooking most of the meals brings the total cost lower.
Wegmans house brands are good and cheaper than name brands even if more expensive than Aldi so a trip to Wegmans where I can get it all done is worth it in the long run if I can't get myself to do the other stops.
I also bake some kind of quick bread and make some kind of baked dessert on Sundays. This has a trickle down effect to reduce the cost of snacks/lunches out during the week.

I've been tracking expenses carefully since. June 2024. Should have been doing it longer. The thing that has the biggest effect is not what I pick at the grocery story, but the act of meal planning and cooking at home instead of doing prepared foods or even fast casual has the biggest effect. This is the sum of Groceries, snacks (vending machine swipes at work), lunch (one adult would do a sandwich shop almost daily during the week), and dinners out in June and then last month.

June: 2373.55
Jan: 1687.57

Great job! I love seeing this.

Anonymous wrote:Shop sales, esp for meat and things like coffee. Keep your eye out for a chest freezer from a buy nothing group.

This is a great idea. I hadn't even thought of it, and would like to get one of these.

Two things:

I mainly shop at Giant, because it is super close and convenient, even if not great and more expensive. Ordering online has drastically reduced my food costs. I am pretty sure this is for two distinct reasons. The biggest reason is that there is zero impulse buying, and I think I do a lot of that when wandering around in the store. The second, is that I buy less expensive things and shop sales and save a ton of money. When looking at stuff online, I can go to the circular and click on the stuff that I see there is a good deal on and plan my whole shop from there. I can also see cost per unit and compare easily and choose the less expensive things. Yes, of course you can do that in the store as well, but I don't -- I find it overwhelming to do when looking a shelf full of things. It's much easier for me to weigh the options and try to check for what is on sale, etc., looking at prices online. I'd say I spend at least 1/3 less and end up with a more functional shop as well when I order online for pickup.

The other way to save money is shopping discount stores, like Aldi and Costco and to a certain extent TJ's. For example, my DH eats Chobani fruit on the bottom yogurt every day. We save a huge percentage of the cost of that buying a case of it at Costco. So much that I think a couple of cases of yogurt come close to paying for the Costco membership. But I generally don't have the time and energy to make trips to these places, so I tend to end up at the Giant near me. But there are really big savings to be had at places like Costco and Aldo.

Anonymous wrote:Less meat. Which means more tofu, beans, etc...

More in-season produce. So more apples and oranges and root veggies in winter, more berries and tomatoes in summer, etc... you can make this really delicious if you cook seasonally and punch things up with herbs and citrus and sauces.

Less processed food. Oreos and beverages and coffee creamers get expensive.

Oreos over eggs any day. Hands off Oreos.

Learning how to make dried beans (instapot!) was a huge money and time saver.
After meal planning and seeing what's on sale, I send my spouse to the grocery store with a list so I'm not tempted to add extras/impulse buys
I make enough of at least one meal each week that I have leftovers to put in the freezer. Saves me the last-minute takeout/pizza fees

Beyond that, we've tightened up our "ingredient house" rules. We don't usually have a lot of convenience foods, pre-made snacks, processed food, etc. Cutting back on those and takeout means not paying someone else to do the cooking. Plus, the food is healthier and more filling.

We have a garden, grow what we can in season, can what we overproduce (tomatoes, mostly), and trade with neighbors.

Eating less processed food and protein. Lidl and a garden help.
Life in MAGAtroid.